Mollusca: Bivalvia and Gastropoda

Among the different groups of mollusks represented in the fossil record, bivalves and gastropods have been widely used in paleoenvironmental interpretations. This is due to their long evolutionary history throughout the Phanerozoic, the wide range of environments in which they have lived, their taxonomic and ecological diversity, and their remarkable patterns of morphological convergence, which represent adaptations to similar environmental conditions and lifestyles. Shell morphology and trace fossils provide information regarding the characteristics of the substrate and the energy of the environment. On the other hand, the geochemical analyses carried out on their shells provide information on the chemistry, pH, temperature, and salinity of the environment they inhabited. This chapter addressed these aspects, shows others research methods used in Mollusca, and offers examples of studies carried out in the vast paleontological record of bivalves and gastropods from Mexico.